Southampton have been criticised for their "totally destructive" attitude towards former manager Stuart Gray by League Managers' Association chief John Barnwell.

The LMA chief executive was livid with the south coast club and English football in general as Gray became the 17th managerial casualty of the season so far.

Barnwell claims Saints have "made a mockery" of football management, and said: "It almost takes your breath away.

"I am boiling over at the situation and the way that in the last 48 hours (Birmingham boss) Trevor Francis has had his character assassinated.

"In the case of Stuart Gray, they knew what they were doing when they appointed him. They had plenty of time to assess it.

"They knew what the risks were. And when it didn't go exactly how they wanted it to go, they blamed him. It is totally destructive of an excellent young man.

"It was not as if they rushed into appointing Stuart," he added.

"In fact, they thought about it for a long time in the summer - but then having given him the job they sack him after a handful of games.

"The fact that they had their new manager sitting in the stand at the match (against West Ham) on Saturday before Stuart had even been told he was sacked is disgraceful."

Barnwell insists money has been the decisive factor in all the dismissals so far, as Barclaycard Premiership clubs chop and change to avoid a drop into the Nationwide League and a massive loss of revenue.

Meanwhile, Barnwell believes clubs outside the Premier League can drag out settlements to sacked managers and so there are no immediate consequences for them.

"It means they can employ someone and it hasn't cost them any money. If there was a regulation about settlement, as there is in the Premier League, clubs would be more reluctant to make those sackings," Barnwell added.

Meanwhile after taking over, Strachan immediately defended his managerial record which ended with him taking Coventry out of the Premiership last season.

The 44-year-old Scot replaced Gray yesterday on a two-and-a-half year contract, bringing his former Coventry assistant Garry Pendrey.

Asked if he was the right man for the job after the way his time at Highfield Road ended - he was sacked five weeks ago - Strachan had no doubts.

He said: "I didn't do it myself. I had help in taking them down; I didn't literally take them down myself.

"On the other hand, I can also say I was in this position when I took over five years ago - and I did the job. So I have proved that I can keep teams up before."